78th Week Out, Week 10 Pacatuba, "Working in the City of Horto"

Dear family and friends, 

 So Brasil won a gold metal in soccer EVERYONE in this country was watching that game! imagine trying to find someone to teach during that hour... HA! soccer (Football) is in the blood of this country!This week President Leite called my companion and I out to lunch to get to know us better! he took us to a super rich churrascaria restaurant, he must have spent A LOT of money! he bought dessert and everything (its one of those restaurants where they don't put the prices!) we had 2 baptisms this week, Antonio who is 18 years old and Douglas who is 16 years old they are both friends and they are now the farthest members from the church building here! every Sunday they have to take a bus to get to church because its over an hour by foot! Me and my companion are working to open a group where they live! (In the city "HORTO"). In the city "HORTO" there is days that theres no water in the city! Its very dry out here and the water resevores are very low so they only give water to the city "HORTO"  marked days in the month, like for example this week the water was cut from the city for 5 days! so people have wells and everyone like takes bucket showers etc. I thank you all for all your love and support!

Impressions of Pacatuba Brasil

- the world is your trash can, everyone throws teash in the street without thinking twice!

-theres always something burning, literaly every single day theres a fire, but the houses here are made of brick and tyle so no one ever has to wory.

Picture 1- Baptism of Antonio and Douglas

Picture 2- My Zone here in Maracanau

77th Week Out, Week 9 Pacatuba, "Everyone is Watching the Olympics."

Dear family and friends,

                Ever since the Olympics have started its SOOOO hard because EVERY single house you get in the Olympics is on... I LOVE WATCHING THE OLYMPICS! And you know as missionaries we cant watch television, so we always have to ask for people to turn off their TV. This week we had a miracle baptism! So it was Tuesday and we did not have anyone with a date to be baptized Sunday. 1 month ago we were teaching a woman named Veronica, she is 18 years old. She loved our message and even came to church with us but she was living together with her boyfriend, not legally married and her boyfriend (who is addicted to drugs, etc. and told her that she was holding him back in life...) doesn't want to get married to her...So she couldn't be baptized, we started to focus more on the sister and brother of her boyfriend but they didn't have much interest... So  Tuesday we were walking in the road and she calls out to us HEY ELDERS! I CAN BE BAPTIZED NOW! She separated from her boyfriend and wanted to be baptized! So we quickly explained to her that the adversary would do everything this week so that she doesn't get baptized Sunday and that her boyfriend during this week would try to win her back. And Sunday after sacrament meeting he called her But she told him that she would follow Christ's Example and be baptized! She was baptized this Sunday! Every miracle like this always strengthens my testimony and makes me realize that miracles never stopped, we should look for them! I love you all and thank you for all your love and support!

Impressions of Pacatuba Brasil

-Whole families go to church on a bike! Literally, like I don't know if you have ever seen 4 people on a bike but I see it every day! Father, Mother, and their 2 kids will all go to church on a bike inSunday dress!

-I don't know if its been a big deal in the US, but theres a new cell phone app that people are using here to catch pokemon? And here in Brasil I believe the number of assaults have risen because before this pokemon game its dangerous to walk with your cell phone in hand in the road but now with this pokemon game everyones walking in the road with their cell phones looking for pokemon and everyone is getting their phone robbed! Lol We had a seventy of the area come to our ward this Sunday and he said ”So i have been informed that there is Pokemon in the church building”

Pic1- My Usain Bolt status in favor of the Oympics (I hear that Michael Phelps is like a Usain Bolt under water!

Pic2- ARMADILO!

Pic3- Photo of Veronicas Baptism

76th Week Out, Week 8 Pacatuba, "no baptism this week."

Dear family and friends,

So this week I don't have much to report,we unfortunately didn't have a baptism... we had 2 baptisms lined up but they both gave up and dropped us by the end of the week. I feel so so sad for those that don't accept our message I know its true and I know that they need it! But even after all that we do sometimes people will reject our message. We always work so hard that people will come to know that this is truly the church of our savior Jesus Christ but Satan at the same time is working SO hard to confuse you.  I love you all and thank you for all your love and support!  

-Impressions of Pacatuba Brasil

-everybody plays soccer with coconuts or whatever round object that rolls!

75th Week Out, Week 7 Pacatuba, "Finding A Baptismal Font"

Dear family and friends,

     This week all the sisters from my group have gone home! We had a baptism Sunday for a man named Edwagney. We got to his house Sunday morning to wake him up and found out he was up till 2 in the morning working... so I thought he wasn't going to go to church but before I said anything He was like "I'm going to take a quick shower ( mind you here its freezing cold showers) wake up my family and we will meet you there!" .He is 25 years old and he is the husband of Isabel and father of Pedro Igor we baptized here a few weeks ago! We completed this family and now here in 1 year they will be going to get sealed in the temple!!!!!! The day of Edwagneys baptism was a trail because we get to the church and we start to fill up the baptisimal font, it was all good started to fill up and 5 minutes later we come back and the water has already run out! SO we ask our stake president if we could do the baptism at his house but his pool was all dirty SO we planned to baptize him at the stake center that afternoon! and it all worked out! I was so happy for this family as Edwagney was one of the very first people we came into contact with when me and Elder Ehms showed up in this area. He sells DIN-DIN which is a type of popsicle very good here in Brasil (it has many other names). And the day we bought DIN-DIN from him we asked if one day we could stop by and share a message with him and his family! I always try to talk with EVERYONE in every single circumstance and I know the lord blesses my efforts I Love you all and thank you for all your love and support!

Impressions of Pacatuba Brasil

-kids with 8 years old ALREADY have tatoos!

75th Week Out, Week 6 Pacatuba, "Seeing Success in the City of Horto"

Dear Family and friends,

 This week was everything I hoped it to be and more! So this week transfer calls came and....... I will be staring here with Elder Ehms!!!!! Heck yes!  we had 4 baptisms on Sunday! We are destroying this city: HORTO its got my name written all over it I mean C’MON!!!! We had planned 2 of our baptisms on Friday so that Sunday they could receive the gift of the holy ghost. BUT we get to the church Friday morning to fill up the Baptismal font and... Theres NO water whatsoever! So we moved all 4 baptisms to be Sunday after church... BUT Sunday there was still no water in the church building...... So we starting putting our heads together, who has a pool? Our stake Presidente here has a pool and we asked him if we could have a baptismal service in his house Sunday and of course he said YES! So we  had to go get all of our baptisms by car and bring them to the stake presidente's house. We picked up 2 and then went to look for the other 2 and we get to their house and find out that they are doubting if they want to be baptized... she said “I wanted to be baptized at the church, it was all lined up and didn't plan out and maybe it didn't work out because god didn't want it to work out” man... SATAN WORKS HARD to get in your head! He will Always be there to confuse you! DONT LET HIM IN!  We explained to her that the place she was baptized was not important, what is important is that she will be baptized by someone who has authority to do so! Graca(Grace) is 35 years old and Felipe her son is 8 years old and were both baptized that Sunday, Graca is separated from her husband and  the mother to Francil who we baptized 2 weeks ago and she has 2 more sons who were less active, we have now reactivated this family. Now Graca the mother of her Family goes to church each week with her 4 boys and I fell so blessed to see this Family at church each week! She lives all the way in the city Horto which is 30 minutes by foot from the church, so she and her 4 sons take the bus to and from every week.  Theres nothing better than completing a Family in the mission! We had 2 more baptisms for Lara she is 12 years old, we found her because her brother is less active! We reactivated her Brother Gil who is 22. Gil was the only memeber in his Family until now. Lara while we were teaching her the VERY FIRST moment we met her and she tells us “hey I found out that people who aren't baptized wont be able to live with god 1 day.. is that true? Like does it get any better than that! We also had a baptism for Walison who is 13 years old, his parentes aren't legally married so sadly cant be baptized, so we will be working with them! I Love LOVE this área its a GOLD MINE! The HORTO CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH is going on here man!!!!! I Love you all and thank you for all your love and support!

Impressions of Pacatuba Brasil

-Other churches here ( NOT OURS) are Always asking for peoples Money! Like if you don't have Money in bills don't worry because churches here ACCEPT YOUR CREDIT CARD!!!!  lol

74th Week Out, Week 5 Pacatuba, "Worthy of God's Will"

Dear Family and friends,

This week was sad... BECAUSE we didn't have a baptism! ...BUT I didn't want that to happen again SO me and my companion brought 11 people to church SO you can count on it that we WILL have a baptism this week! MORE THAN 1! For all missionaries the thing that brings the MOST joy on the mission is baptism, they might say nahhhh ...but it's true! I always try to do everything possible so that heavenly father blesses me with a baptism, I have learned that baptism is a blessing from god, so heavenly father will only prepare people for me to baptize if I'm for example I can have a baptism all lined up for Sunday but if I slack off Saturday before, heavenly father is not going to bless me with that baptism. I have to be worthy 24 hours a day 365 days a year for 2 years! I LOVE MY mission BRASIL FORTALEZA LESTE is truly the mission I was supposed to serve in. Everyone says that their mission is the best mission in the whole world.. and it's true for that missionary in that mission! So My mission is the best mission in the whole world FOR ME and all of the missionaries IN my mission! I love you all and thank you for all you love and support!

worthy of them.

-Impressions of Pacatuba Brasil

-Everybody never leaves their house with their cell phone in their pocket, everyone leaves their cell phone at home because they don't want to be assaulted and loose their nice phone. Some people walk with 2 cell phones 1 good one and 1 that's super cheap so that if they get assaulted they will give them the cheap one. Here in Brasil there's A LOT of assaults but they don't ask for money, they just ask for your cell phone!

73rd Week Out, Week 4 Pacatuba, "Reactivated Family"

Dear family and friends My companion Elder Ehms is super legit! he played for a professional soccer team here in Brasil called Gremio! ( its the professional team for the state!) He was 16 when he was playing and he is SUPER GOOD! like he can literally do everything with a soccer ball! so what professional teams do here is find kids under 18 to play for their team when they turn 18, (scouting) they chose him and when he turned 18 he would have literally been on the professional team! they were paying him to play soccer! but he left to serve a mission! DANG!

-- This week we had another baptism! for a boy named Francil he is 13 years old. We found him because of our bishop, 2 Sundays ago we went to pick someone up with our bishop and while we were driving he pointed at a house and said theres a family of less actives that lives here, I would like you to visit. SO we passed by and theres 2 less actives a boy named Welison who is 18, his brother Tiago who is 17, AND Francil who was not a member, so we reactivated Tiago and Welison and baptized Francil. They have 1 more brother Felipe who is 8 and their mother Graca who are not baptized yet, so we well be working with them to complete this family! I love you all and thank you for all your love and support!

Impressions of Pacatuba Brasil

-Here in brasil like no one has computers in their house because its very expensive SO they have places called "LAN HOUSES" a house LOADED with computers (where I email) and these lan houses are LOADED with kids playing video games, so every week as I send my emails I always listen to screaming kids playing their computer games.